Monday, June 25, 2007

Upma with Puffed Rice

Ingredients:- 12 to 15 cups of puffed rice (you would need 3-4 cups of puffed rice for each person)- One large onion (about 200gms)- One large tomato - about 200 gms- One large red bell pepper- 1-2 tbsp each of chana daal and split black gram- 20 curry leaves- Half cup of chopped coriander leaves- 4 to 5 tablespoons of grounded roasted sesame seeds or peanuts- 2 tablespoon of besan (bengal gram flour)- 2 tablespoons of aamchoor powder or the juice of a lemon- half tsp of salt

Preparation:- Dry roast the chanaa daal, black gram and curry leaves in a nonstick cooking pot. You would need to use a big pot that is big enough to hold all the rice.

- Add the sliced or cubed onions to the pan and roast them, stirring occationally until they start to turn brown.

- Add the tomatoes and bell peppers, and salt to the pan and cook with the lid on until the vegetables become soft. The tomatoes and bell peppers add color and flavor and compensate for the lack of turmeric. These are also needed in this type of upma because we won't be cooking the rice in water.

- Add 4 tablespoons of ground roasted peanuts or sesame seeds or other nuts of your choice and 8-10 green chillies (sliced or grounded) and cook for another minute or two.

- Wash the rice with cold water and drain well.

- Add the washed and well drained rice, besan and aam choor powder to the pot with the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Takes quite some effort to mix in the cooked vegetables with the rice.

- Cover and cook on low flame for 5 minutes mixing once or twice in between.

- If you are using the lemon juice instead of aam choor powder, add it after the stove is turned off and mix well.